My Long Lost Sketch Wallet

In May of 2020, friend and studio partner, Michelle, gifted me a Sketch Wallet, reasoning that I always needed something to doodle on when I went out, and mightn’t it also be nice if I had a wallet with me at those times. I agreed. But then May of 2020 marked the beginning of a time period where I stopped going out for two years. It also marked the very month that I somehow lost the Sketch Wallet in my studio, so it’s just as well I’d become a shut-in.

It still looks pristine and untouched after 2 years because it is.

I was honestly too embarrassed to tell Michelle I’d lost her gift in the first week, but at about a year-and-a-half in she asked about it and I fessed up. It was a running joke for a while, both of us combing through the studio when we had a few minutes, neither one of us finding it. The resolution isn’t dramatic. I found it the other day under a stack of papers in a filing cabinet. I’d purchased the filing cabinet years ago to help me stay organized. But now it had turned on me. Regardless, just a brief twenty-six months after she’d given me the gift, I whipped the Sketch Wallet out at a sidewalk cafe we’d literally run into during a surprise summer rainstorm.

Shadyside, Pittsburgh. Staying dry during a summer storm.

I honestly expected her to rib me endlessly about the organizational skills I’m so proud of, but she was ecstatic that I’d found the Sketch Wallet and happy I could finally get some doodling in while I was out and about. I showed my appreciation almost immediately by sketching out a flattering caricature of her eating a cheeseburger.

In all fairness, it was a big burger.

Here’s the thing about the Sketch Wallet — I don’t dig that stubby little 2B pencil it ships with. Yeah, it’s a nice touch. Free pencil. But if you get a Sketch Wallet, the best course of action is to customize it to fit your needs. Luckily, Michelle and I had just come from the art store when the rain hit, so I had some fresh supplies to work into the rotation.

Sketching a scene I took a reference photo of mere minutes earlier.

Most of the time, if I want to get an idea on paper, I grab a 4H pencil. Hard lead, quiet line. Something you can construct and build with and not have to worry too much about erasing. But an eraser definitely helps. Even if only as cleanup after you lay down some ink. The supplies I’d just picked up at the art store were exactly what I needed: 4H pencils, white eraser, Micron fine liners.

Here’s the reference pic I snapped right before the rain really let loose.

So what’s the verdict on my first Sketch Wallet? My review? I like it. I like carrying sketchbooks with me anyway, and this one’s compact enough to fit in my pocket, and multi-functional. And once I customized it, it became even more useful. So yeah, this was an unexpected but much-appreciated present. I promise if Michelle ever gets me another gift, I’ll keep better tabs on it.

The final Sketch Wallet doodle that day, based on reference.